Broccoli Fritters

These fritters are pan-fried, yielding a crispy outside and a soft inside.

Serve them on their own or with your favorite dipping sauce. We like them with Greek yogurt or sour cream.

💛 Why you’ll love this recipe

• It’s family-friendly (my kids love these).
• Ready in about 35 minutes from start to finish.
• A fun way to get some extra veggies on the table.
• High in vitamin C, with a full pound of broccoli in one batch.

➡️ Ingredients

⏲ How to make broccoli fritters

This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Steam Then Chop Broccoli: Add water to a pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli florets to a steamer basket, cover the pot with a lid, and steam them until they’re fork-tender, which should take about 5-6 minutes. Transfer the broccoli away from the stovetop to cool just slightly, then remove any excess moisture by blotting the broccoli gently with some paper towel. Then, chop the steamed florets into small pieces using a sharp knife.
• Mix Fritter Ingredients Together: Add the chopped broccoli to a mixing bowl, then add eggs, grated Parmesan cheese, ground sunflower seed meal or almond flour, garlic powder, pepper, and salt. Mix until well combined.
• Start Cooking Fritters: Add avocado oil to a large (12-inch) cast iron skillet over medium heat. Allow it to get hot. Then, using a ¼ cup measuring cup, portion the mixture from the mixing bowl, transfer it to the pan, and flatten it with the back of the measuring cup. Repeat this process until you have 3-4 fritters in the pan to cook at a time.

Recipe Tip: If the oil gets too hot and turns dark while the fritters are cooking, lower the heat to medium-low.

• Finish Cooking Fritters: Cook the fritters for about 2-3 minutes on the first side. Check them, and if you can easily flip them over without them breaking and they’re golden brown on that side, flip them and cook them for another 1-2 minutes.
• Serve: Serve with Greek yogurt or sour cream.

👉 Ingredient substitution suggestions

• Broccoli: You can substitute cauliflower at a 1:1 ratio.
• Eggs: Storebought egg substitutes should be able to be used in place of eggs. Read the packaging and use the equivalent of 3 eggs. You can also try to use a vegan egg substitute like a flax egg, psyllium husk egg, or chia seed egg.
• Ground Sunflower Seed Meal: You can substitute almond flour at a 1:1 ratio. White flour can also be used at a 1:1 ratio.
• Garlic Powder: Use 1 teaspoon freshly minced garlic in place of garlic powder.

✨ Variations

• Add additional flavor and texture by including 1-2 Tablespoons of finely chopped white onions into the fritter mixture.
• Make the fritters cheesier by adding 2-3 Tablespoons of finely shredded cheddar cheese to the fritter mixture. If you do this, just note that the fritters may be a little more challenging to flip.
• Add some heat by sprinkling in ground cayenne pepper and/or red pepper flakes into the fritter mixture.

〰️ How to serve

• Dipping sauces – Besides Greek yogurt and sour cream, ranch, spicy mayo, and Yum Yum sauce are also delicious with these fritters.

➜ Cooking and recipe tips

• Use a cast iron skillet to cook these, if possible. I’ve found that these are easier to flip when cooking them in a seasoned cast iron skillet. If you use a stainless steel pan, you may need to add a little extra oil to avoid the fritters sticking.
• Use an electric hand mixer to mix the fritter ingredients together. Alternatively, you can put all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse a few times.

💬 FAQs

📚 More broccoli recipes

• Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Loaded Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
• Creamy Broccoli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
• Sausage And Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner
• Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli